Will this type of use avoid DPF issues?

N$X said:
i own a 525d 2007 reg.

i let my mrs drive the car to work and back, as i dont fancy putting 15k miles a year by driving it to work.

i have had the car for 3 years and my mrs is probably doing about 8 miles a day to work and back.

had no problems with the dpf.

i would worry about the dpf when it goes wrong.

just as a caution, i dont use supermarket fuel. only shell regular fuel.
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[TW]Fox;25847586 said:
Why would you buy a 525d and then worry about putting 15k a year on it? That's the entire point of such a car.
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For once I have to agree with Fox - if you're going to drive a tractor, it should only really be if you're doing the miles to warrant it. 15k a year is nothing.

If you're going to own something with the fun removed, at least make it worth it in fuel savings :p
 
The focus and the 525 have the same fuel costs. The maintaining of the BMW is a lot more. Tyres and servicing etc.
 
Simon42 said:
I am going to take the risk with a diesel A6 as I really like the car and the 3.0 diesel is such a relaxed drive. If I buy another make/model I'll be forever wondering.

If I do get issues then I'll try switching cars with my other half when she's got longer journeys. Fingers crossed this works out!
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I can't see why it won't work out, there are so many people driving diesel cars for short journeys now and they don't all blow up because of this. I completely understand your points about not being able to find the right model/spec car in petrol easily these days it really is becoming a problem unless your prepared to really look and travel to find one.

Good luck with your new car and just try and take it on a blast down the motorway now and then give the DPF a good regen.

Cheers
 
Spartacus said:
I can't see why it won't work out, there are so many people driving diesel cars for short journeys now and they don't all blow up because of this.

Cheers
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Cars dont really blow up nowadays, they just start to get niggly faults that put them in to limp home mode, and tend to cost a bomb to put right. Sadly unless you are a company car driver, diesel car ownership is likely at some point, going to cost you a decent sum of money in repairs.
 
Tinders said:
Cars dont really blow up nowadays, they just start to get niggly faults that put them in to limp home mode, and tend to cost a bomb to put right. Sadly unless you are a company car driver, diesel car ownership is likely at some point, going to cost you a decent sum of money in repairs.
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When I say blow up I was taking the pee, I didn't mean literally, I meant that not all diesel cars being used for short journeys have major issues. You only have to look as an example at the cars were I work, lots of women driving Astra diesels and the like that are 5 or 6 years old for short trips to the shops and 5 mile commutes to work etc, and guess what? I don't know anyone who's had a massive bill yet because of it. The truth is considering how many if these cars are on the road now it's obvious it's the minority that you read about online on forums etc rather than the majority that have big problems.

I do agree that a modern ageing diesel car is more likely to throw a big bill at you than a petrol car on average due to all the stuff that's mentioned to keep it running cleaner, but you could just as easily buy a 3 year old diesel car keep it 4 years and use it for short trips without any major bills.

Yes it's silly to buy a diesel car to save money on fuel if you do low mileage and mainly short trips, but if the OP buys one because he likes the way they drive and because it's much harder to find a 3 Ltr Audi or BMW with the spec he wants in petrol, I agree with his decision and would probably do the same.

Cheers
 
Anything 5 or 6 years old from the VX stable wont have DPF's, and are probably the 1.7 cdti engine. The 1.9CDTI are not so reliable, but yes you're right, the internet will only have problems listed rather than positives.
 
An update for those pondering a diesel (or limited by availability) and concerned about the DPF issue:

Well I went ahead with an A6 3.0 Tdi and over three months on I've not had the DPF warning show so far. So with this engine at least the shorter commute and lower mileage is working out well. Fuel consumption is 35+ on my commute, just over 40 on slightly longer trips and no less than 30 around town (these are calculated from pump use as the trip computer appears to under estimate fuel use by 5 to 10%)

It's a nice engine to drive and amount of torque is great. I've since driven a 3.0 TFSi petrol A6 and I like both in different ways, but I think my next purchase will just be an even more powerful diesel Audi or BMW. All that power for so little fuel :)
 
My car (just about) gets up to operating temp on my 7 mile commute. I do almost weekly 140 mile trips to Heathrow which should take care of the DPF, plus monthly or more 500 mile round trips to see friends/family.

As long as you can get the car up to temperature reasonably regularly you shouldn't see premature DPF issues.
 
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